LITVINENKO | THERE SHE GOES | THE CHANGE

This article was originally published in The Courier on 17th June 2023.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Litvinenko – Monday, STV, 9pm

In 2006, former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko was fatally poisoned while living in British exile. He’d spent the last few years of his life trying to expose links between Putin’s government and the Russian mafia. 

This four-part drama starring David Tennant is a riveting evocation of the whole murky, tragic affair. 

We follow two British police officers as they spend time with Litvinenko during his final days in hospital. His truth is revealed. 

Tennant is such a great actor, he never draws attention to himself with tics or affectations. You always believe fully in whatever role he’s playing. 

A follow-up ITVX documentary, Litvinenko: The Mayfair Poisonings ‘drops’ on Thursday. 

The Wonders of the World I Can’t See – Monday, Channel 4, 10pm

The comedian Chris McCausland is blind. In this novel new travelogue, he visits some of the world’s most notable historic landmarks. 

An affable dry-witted gent, he’s joined each week by a celebrity travelling companion. They’re tasked with bringing these various places to life descriptively, while doing what they can to convince McCausland that it was worth him bothering to go there in the first place. 

The series begins with a trip to Athens in the company of Harry Hill. Our guides enjoy some sea fishing, pottery making, olive oil tasting, Greek drama lessons and even a few Olympic sports, before arriving at their ultimate destination: the Acropolis. 

Will McCausland enjoy the experience as much as Hill hopes? 

Dr Death – Tuesday, Channel 4, 10pm

Christopher Duntsch is a former American neurosurgeon who killed two of his patients and maimed over 30 others. In 2017 he was sentenced to life imprisonment. 

This solemn eight-part drama boasts a suitably unsettling performance from Joshua Jackson as Duntsch. 

In the opening episode, two concerned doctors (Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater, no less) start to investigate a series of severely botched operations carried out by Duntsch. 

Make no mistake, this case is utterly horrific, but Dr Death dramatizes it with due respect for Duntsch’s many victims. It’s the story of how a deeply disturbed narcissist wilfully destroyed lives, and how he was eventually brought to justice.

There She Goes – Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm

Jessica Hynes and the hardest working man in show business David Tennant star in this standalone addendum to a poignant series based on the personal experiences of writers Shaun Pyle and Sarah Crawford. 

Their daughter was born with an extremely rare chromosomal disorder. Rosie is now 13. Her already difficult and challenging mood swings are becoming more acute.

As you would expect, There She Goes is an authentic day-to-day depiction of living with a beloved family member who has a severe learning disability. It’s touching, but never sentimental. 

It’s sometimes quite funny too. Humour can arise from unlikely situations, that’s one of the ways we all muddle through life. You carry on.

The Change – Wednesday, Channel 4, 10pm

Comedian Bridget Christie writes and stars in this striking new comedy-drama about Linda, a 50-year-old woman who is going through the menopause. 

As she explains to her GP, she’s worried about having “early onset dementia, osteoporosis, ringing in my ears when I’m stressed, anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease and a strange mental disorder involving loss of nouns.” 

Hoping to rediscover the person she used to be, Linda leaves her utterly foolish husband (Omid Djalili) behind and embarks upon a soul-searching motorcycle odyssey. 

The Change is funny, frank and distinctive, it lingers. Christie and Djalili, both great, are supported by an exceptional cast including Monica Dolan, Susan Lynch, Liza Tarbuck and Paul Whitehouse.

Ruby Speaking – Thursday, ITVX

Set in a busy Bristol call centre, this fairly amusing sitcom stars co-creator Jayde Adams as a jaded factotum. 

Ruby is teetering on the brink of being sacked, she’s not bringing in the numbers. Anyone who’s ever worked in a call centre (I have) will empathise with her plight. 

Ruby quite likes some of her colleagues, but she’s just so bored with her strictly prepared workaday script. What’s the point? A metaphor for life, if you will. 

Former Coronation Street star Katherine Kelly steals the show as a thoroughly awful ‘inspirational’ boss who clearly couldn’t care less about her staff. Ruby Speaking is quite a sharp little character study. Hilarious? No. But its heart is in the right place. 

Icons of Football – Friday, BBC Scotland, 10:30pm

Former Dundee United striker and football manager Paul ‘Luggy’ Sturrock relates his estimable story in the latest episode of this series about Scottish football legends.

Sturrock, who has Parkinson’s disease, spent his entire career at Dundee United under the tutelage of his much-loved mentor Jim McLean. In the words of sports reporter Hazel Irvine, who contributes to the programme alongside fellow famous fans such as Lorraine Kelly, Sturrock was: “In my memory, one of the most joyous footballers I’ve ever watched.” 

I know nothing about football, it’s just not on my radar, but this KT Tunstall-narrated profile lifted my spirits. Sturrock is quite clearly an exceptional athlete and a thoroughly decent man.